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Last updated: 4 July 2023

When you cannot declare goods ‘not at risk’

There are some goods which cannot be declared ‘not at risk’. These goods will be automatically ‘at risk’ and the EU duty will be payable.

Goods which are subject to commercial processing, where the  to declare these goods ‘not at risk’ are not met, cannot be declared ‘not at risk’, and are therefore automatically ‘at risk’.

Goods which enter Northern Ireland from countries outside of both the EU and UK, where the applicable EU duty is greater than the applicable UK duty by 3 percentage points or more, cannot be declared ‘not at risk’ and are therefore automatically ‘at risk’.

If you have moved ‘at risk’ goods into Northern Ireland you may be able to claim for a repayment of import duty paid or remission of import duty deferred. 

Find out more about .

When you can declare goods ‘not at risk’

If goods you bring into Northern Ireland are not automatically ‘at risk’, they can be declared ‘not at risk’ when they are either:

• ‘not at risk’ 
• ‘not at risk’  or 

When goods you bring into Northern Ireland are ‘not at risk’ due to the applicable duties

Goods brought into Northern Ireland from Great Britain are ‘not at risk’ if the applicable EU duty is zero. This is unless the goods are subject to processing and you do not meet the  to declare goods for processing ‘not at risk’.

Goods brought into Northern Ireland from countries outside of both the EU and the UK are ‘not at risk’ where the applicable UK duty is equal to or higher than the applicable EU duty. This is unless the goods are subject to processing and you do not meet the additional criteria to declare goods for processing ‘not at risk’.

To work out what the applicable UK duty and EU duty would be, you need to take account of the customs duty and any other applicable measures that apply to your goods. This includes preferential rates where goods meet rules of origin requirements under relevant Free Trade Agreements.

You do not need to be authorised under the UK Trader Scheme or the UK Internal Market Scheme to declare goods ‘not at risk’ based on the applicable duties. Find out how to make a .

When goods you bring into Northern Ireland can be declared ‘not at risk’ under the UK Trader Scheme or UK Internal Market Scheme

Where the applicable EU duties are higher than the applicable UK duties (which are zero in the case of movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland), goods brought into Northern Ireland can still be declared ‘not at risk’ when they are all of the following:

• for sale to, or final use by, end consumers located in Northern Ireland (and England, Wales and Scotland in the case of movements from Great Britain)
• declared by a trader authorised under the UK Internal Market Scheme or the 
• not subject to an EU trade remedy

Goods brought into Northern Ireland from countries outside of both the EU and UK cannot be declared ‘not at risk’ if the applicable EU duty is greater than the applicable UK duty by 3 percentage points or more.

If the goods you bring into Northern Ireland will be subject to processing, you must meet  when applying for UK Internal Market Scheme authorisation before you can declare these goods ‘not at risk’.

In declaring goods ‘not at risk’ under the UK Trader Scheme or the UK Internal Market Scheme, you must be satisfied that these goods entered Northern Ireland for the purpose of being sold or used by end consumers located in Northern Ireland (and England, Wales and Scotland in the case of movements from Great Britain). You’ll need to keep evidence to demonstrate this.

Some examples include:

• selling goods in a shop in Northern Ireland
• buying stationery for use in Northern Ireland
• a farmer buying a tractor for their own use in Northern Ireland
• selling furniture from a wholesale outlet to shops, or to businesses for their own use, in Northern Ireland
• bringing goods into Northern Ireland from Great Britain, storing them in a warehouse in Northern Ireland before selling to other parts of the UK

If you’re a wholesaler, your customer must sell or use the good in the appropriate territory according to the declaration you’ve made – for example, you could sell a chair which was declared ‘not at risk’ if it will be used at an office location in Northern Ireland.

If you did not declare your goods ‘not at risk’, and this was a mistake, you may be able to . If you apply for a repayment, you must provide proof you’re authorised under the UK Internal Market Scheme or the . This proof should be the letter or the email you received confirming your authorisation. If you declared your goods ‘not at risk’ by mistake, you should apply for a .

If you bring goods into Northern Ireland which will be subject to processing, and wish to declare these goods ‘not at risk’, you will need to meet additional criteria. You can move goods that are subject to processing if you meet at least one of the following:

• your annual turnover is less than £2million
• you’re importing sheepmeat, poultry and beef using UK tariff rate quotas into Northern Ireland from countries outside the UK and EU
• your goods are for one of the following approved purposes

The approved purposes are:

• food for sale to end consumers in the UK
• construction — where the processed goods form a permanent part of a structure that is constructed and located in Northern Ireland by the importer or one subsequent entity
• directly providing health or care services in Northern Ireland by the importer or one subsequent entity
• non-profit activities in Northern Ireland by the importer or one subsequent entity, where there is no subsequent sale of the processed goods
• the final use of animal feed on premises located in Northern Ireland by the importer or one subsequent entity

If you’re moving goods subject to processing in the construction, health and care services, non-profit or animal feed sectors, you may do so even if you sell on the eventual product to one subsequent entity.

For example, you could import animal feed that will be sold on to a farmer, provided the farmer is the final entity in the supply chain and will use the animal feed in Northern Ireland.

Once authorised, you’ll then be able to move your goods for processing that meet these requirements as ‘not at risk’ in line with the treatment of other goods.

These additional requirements for moving goods ‘not at risk’ apply only to goods which will be processed in Northern Ireland.

If you also move goods which are not to be processed, you can still apply for authorisation under the UK Internal Market Scheme. You can move those goods as ‘not at risk’ in the usual way, regardless of whether your business meets the additional processing requirements mentioned in this section.

You can move your goods into Northern Ireland by submitting information directly to HMRC or using:

• the free  if you’re moving goods into Northern Ireland from Great Britain
• hire a person or a business to act as your , use a  or get someone to deal with customs for you
• use a courier or express operator when moving goods by parcel — find out about sending parcels to and from Northern Ireland

How to move your goods as ‘not at risk’ under the  UK Internal Market Scheme in the Customs Declaration Service

You can use your UK Internal Market Scheme authorisation to move goods as ‘not at risk’. You need to provide information to your intermediary or submit information directly to HMRC using the Customs Declaration Service instructions for imports.

You need to use the Economic Operators Registration and Identification number (EORI) starting with GB or XI that is linked to your UK Internal Market Scheme authorisation.

You can only use your UK Internal Market Scheme authorisation for goods that you move on or after the date that you’re authorised.

If you want to move a proportion of a single line item as ‘not at risk’, you must submit those goods as a separate line item. The remaining proportion which is ‘at risk’ must be a separate line item for which no code is necessary.

If you’re using a specialist intermediary to complete declarations, you need to:

make them aware that the goods you intend to bring into Northern Ireland are ‘not at risk’
confirm whether you’re authorised for the UK Internal Market Scheme
tell them your UK Internal Market Scheme authorisation number and the EORI that is linked to your authorisation

If you’re moving your goods as ‘not at risk’ under the UK Internal Market Scheme, you’ll need to keep 91Ï㽶»ÆÉ«ÊÓƵing evidence for each consignment you move into Northern Ireland.

You must keep 91Ï㽶»ÆÉ«ÊÓƵing evidence for 5 years and it will need to be accessible at an address in the UK that HMRC can visit.

The types of evidence to 91Ï㽶»ÆÉ«ÊÓƵ a ‘not at risk’ goods movement include:

• commercial receipts and invoices
• VAT invoices
• commercial contracts and purchase orders
• delivery receipts
• consignment notes
• proof of installation
• electronic records

Even where you are not responsible for the end destination of the goods, you may still be able to be authorised and move goods as ‘not at risk’ if you can make sure that goods will meet the ‘not at risk’ criteria.

Examples of evidence you could use in this case include:

• a written and signed declaration from your customer stating that the goods will remain in Northern Ireland
• evidence that your customer only makes retail sales for final use or end-consumption in the UK from a physical outlet in Northern Ireland
• evidence that your customer only sells goods that will be for final use by end consumers in the UK and are delivered within the UK
• commercial contracts and purchase orders showing that goods will be for final use in the UK
• evidence that the goods are to be permanently installed within the UK

You will not need to provide this evidence to HMRC on a routine basis, only when asked to do so.